Episode 236: Our Fifth Anniversary

September 25, 2019

Five years ago, Hector and I set out to have sincere conversations about the human experience and the countless avenues of curiosity. Week after week, various folks and myself have done our best to make you reflect, challenge conventional thinking and invite discussion. Across various co-hosts and guests, I hope we’ve done something to illuminate even a fraction of the human mosaic. Today, that journey continues with a new co-host, Kathleen Duffy. I’m excited to welcome one of the kindest, most thoughtful and well-informed people I know to be a partner in this endeavor. I’ve long enjoyed learning from her in our friendship and I know that her influence will help craft the show as a space of compassion and earnest, at times challenging, introspection. We’re eager to release the conversations we’ve already prepared and look forward to engaging with you all.

Love,
Kip Clark

Episode 235: Thordis and Tom

September 18, 2019

***The following episode deals with issues of sexual violence.***

Over twenty years ago, Thordis Elva of Iceland shared a teenage romance with Tom Stranger, an exchange student visiting from Australia. After a school dance in 1996, when she was 16 and he was 18, he raped her. After parting ways and independently examining their own feelings and responses to the traumatic event, Thordis got in touch with Tom. The two would go on to correspond for years and later meet in South Africa to navigate the pain surrounding Tom’s actions together. In October 2016, they recorded a controversial joint TED Talk exploring this journey. This week, we’re joined by Nari Malkhasyan to discuss the talk and its implications regarding shame, trauma and humanity. As we felt the original talk pursued, we hope we also touch on the uncomfortable nuance and difficult questions in our conversation. Lastly, like any episode, this conversation is about reflection and inquiry, not conclusion and declaration. What we discuss may clash with your perspectives and similarly, what Thordis and Tom explored (and acknowledged) is not a prescription for all survivors and perpetrators.

Episode 234: "Catching Up"

September 11, 2019

As our lives grow more complex and our social ties accommodate different schedules, timezones and obligations, a common refrain for friends (especially in adulthood) is to find the time to “catch up”. This week we welcome Leland Holcomb to explore the phrase and the ideas behind it. In what ways does it acknowledge the sometimes chaotic pace of social life? How does this approach to friendship sculpt a particular lane within which to call someone a friend? Do we limit ourselves to recollection rather than deeper inspection of our experiences? Do these friendships tend towards image over substance?

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Episode 233: How We Nourish Creativity

September 4, 2019

Creative individuals have been supported in many ways across humanity’s storied history. They’re relied upon generous benefactors, municipal commissions and in modern times, crowd-funding such as Patreon. Some might argue about the value of creative work in our society, but in the belief that they should be supported, how do we nourish that creativity? This week, we welcome Matt DiBiase, a musical artist, to explore the idea. How do friends, family and thoughtful gifts nudge those with the creative spark to make something of their passions and perspectives?

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